The year 1994, represented a monumental year for the development of the internet. The internet allowed people to begin networking with one another, allowing for greater communication.
That very same year in December of the same year, the tech world witnessed the release of Netscape Navigator 1.0. The words “Netscape Navigator” may not ring a bell in the typical internet user today in Singapore. However to the local early adopters of the internet here, the Navigator package is one which provided the initial leap into the world of the internet back in the late 90s. I’m sure some of us will feel tinges of nostalgia roused within from our early streaks of internet excitement. The familiar packaging with large capital ‘N’ coupled with the black horizon littered with stars explicitly displayed holding what was the revered cd-rom or in some cases floppy discs!
That very same year in December of the same year, the tech world witnessed the release of Netscape Navigator 1.0. The words “Netscape Navigator” may not ring a bell in the typical internet user today in Singapore. However to the local early adopters of the internet here, the Navigator package is one which provided the initial leap into the world of the internet back in the late 90s. I’m sure some of us will feel tinges of nostalgia roused within from our early streaks of internet excitement. The familiar packaging with large capital ‘N’ coupled with the black horizon littered with stars explicitly displayed holding what was the revered cd-rom or in some cases floppy discs!
It was developed after the first World Wide Web browser, Mosaic which was developed in 1992. It started when Jim Clark, the founder of Silicon Graphics met Marc Andreesseen. Clark saw great prospects in Mosaic and provided funds for its development. Back then, the corporation who had taken up the work was called Mosaic Communications Corporation. But how did Netscape get its name? The University of Illinois where Andreessen had graduated from, was displeased with the usage of the word “Mosaic” and so decided to to change its name to “Netscape Communications” and thus naming he web browser Netscape Navigator. (Wikipedia, 2007)
I consider the release of Netscape Navigator 1.0
as an important milestone in internet history. This is due to the fact that its release provided empowerment to the internet “newbie” back at a time when the phrase “newbie” had yet to be even coined!
Netscape Navigator was the first internet browser to offer a complete, secure client/server system; providing the perfect platform for users to explore all the internet had to offer. For the first time, users were given the tools to realize the potentiality of the internet. Email, IRC, web browsing, and even the humble beginnings of E-commerce. Netscape brought about the foundations for the way the internet is browsed and used today – the simplicity of point and click operation coupled with the foundations of secure internet usage.
However, its strong life span in the world of internet began to decrease in the year 1996 due to their competitor, Microsoft. Despite its sudden decrease in usage to the popularity of its competitor called the Internet Explorer (I.E), it still managed to sustain its presence in the Internet world till the year 2004. (Wikipedia, 2007)
Through the years, people have contributed the downfall of Netscape to another factor other than to Internet Explorer. Others believed that it was due to the need to upgrade that caused Netscape’s downfall. Netscape wanted to modify itself to improve the quality of usage that can be gained by users. However, their research and development took them three years to complete. By which time, many had grown accustomed to the old version of Netscape, version 0.4, that they did not want to switch to something new. (Wikipedia, 2007) This led to people thinking that Netscape had caused their own failure.
I find it a surreal experience to actually look back 13 years ago, to see the humble beginnings of what the internet as we know it today, take place at such an innocent age of discovery. I wonder whether the developers at the time even dreamt of the hints of what the ramifications of such software could be?
References
Wikipedia (5 September, 2006). "History of World Wide Web". Retrieved January 25, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_World_Wide_Web&oldid=73974490
Wikipedia (21 January, 2007). "Netscape Navigator". Retrieved January 25, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator
Wikipedia (18 January, 2007 “Mosaic(web browser)” Retrieve January 26, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)
"Netscape" Retrieve January 25, 2007 from http://www.netscape.com/">http://www.netscape.com/
Wikipedia (5 September, 2006). "History of World Wide Web". Retrieved January 25, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_the_World_Wide_Web&oldid=73974490
Wikipedia (21 January, 2007). "Netscape Navigator". Retrieved January 25, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator
Wikipedia (18 January, 2007 “Mosaic(web browser)” Retrieve January 26, 2007 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser)
"Netscape" Retrieve January 25, 2007 from http://www.netscape.com/">http://www.netscape.com/
1 comment:
Valerie, it's fresh that you explored the world of web browsers. The screenshots of early web browsers certainly adds more validity to what you've mentioned about how far we've come.
Decent use of APA references and in-text citations, though the advice is to use references beyond Wikipedia in future, since most academics would not rely on it (i.e. widen your research).
This assignment get the full grade. Keep up the good work!
Post a Comment